Meanwhile in the real world;

$92 billion more than thought pumped into economy during pandemic: analysis

About $90 billion more than first thought was pumped into the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, independent analysis has revealed, contributing to the surge in inflation that has forced the Reserve Bank to lift interest rates while eating into the real wages of working Australians.

Respected economist Chris Murphy, who has been used by both sides of politics to model economy-wide policy changes, argues in a submission to an inquiry into JobKeeper that the extra $92 billion – about 27 per cent more than claimed by the former government – on top of the RBA’s quantitative easing program, will buffet the country until 2025.

But Murphy found another $92 billion of spending that he said was “additional fiscal expansion in the context of the pandemic, over and above the measures specifically linked to the pandemic”.

Murphy found businesses were overcompensated through JobKeeper. For every $1 businesses lost in income due to COVID-related shutdowns, they received $2 in government support.

Qantas, which last week reported a $2.5 billion profit for the just-completed financial year, received $856 million in JobKeeper payments, along with other assistance aimed specifically at the airline industry. Unlike some high-profile businesses including Cochlear, Premier Investments and Nick Scali, it has refused to repay any of its JobKeeper payments.

Murphy said part-time workers were overcompensated on JobKeeper during the initial phase where everyone received the same payment, which meant they were better off staying inactive with their existing employer rather than finding a new job.
disallowed/politics/federal/92-billion-more-than-thought-pumped-into-economy-during-pandemic-analysis-20230901-p5e1cv.html

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